Raageshwari Loomba (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian pop singer, actress, model, television anchor, former MTV and Channel V VJ, a yoga practitioner and a motivational speaker.

Biographie

Raageshwari was born in Mumbai to Trilok Singh Loomba, a National Award-winning musician and government servant, and his wife Veera. She has an elder brother, Rishabh who is a film maker. The Sanskrit word Raageshwari means 'the goddess of Ragas' and 'wife of the Lord'.

Raageshwari attended the Auxilium Convent High School. As a child model, she did the rounds of several advertising agencies with her father. At the age of 13, she was noticed by director Shekhar Kapoor and auditioned at a photo shoot for the lead role opposite Bobby Deol but did not secure the part. As a teenager, Raageshwari signed her first film as an actor, Zid (released in 1994). She took a month off from school to complete the shooting but managed to secure a distinction in her Class X exams. She then acted in hit films, including David Dhawan's Aankhen (1993) and Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994).

Later, Raageshwari forayed into television, acting as VJ for the popular countdown shows, BPL Oye. In a later version of the show, she also wrote her own scripts and won innumerable awards. She was given the nickname "Ragz", while working on BPL Oye with Sunil Sahjwani and his team. She was an instant hit with teenagers and young kids.

She then decided to launch herself as a musician. She recorded a scratch demo of the song "Ta Ta Ra Ri Ra Ra" (later the title song of her first album, Duniya) and did the rounds of music companies. However, she faced rejection from them. She and her brother Rishabh then shot the music video in Maldives. The video became very popular and launched Raageshwari's singing career. It was followed by another video, titled "Oye shava." The album went platinum in just a month after its release. Raageshwari then signed a deal with Coca-Cola to do a series of concerts all over India.

In 1998, Raageshwari released her second album, Pyar Ke Rang, in collaboration with her father and brother. The video for the title track was a spin-off on the character of Aida from Giuseppe Verdi's opera, with Raageshwari switching between the characters of Aida and a college girl. The second music video, for the song "Mere Mehboob," depicted her as a young woman separated from her lover. At this point, Raageshwari began touring the world with her dance troupe.

In 2000, Raageshwari and her father collaborated on another album, Y2K Saal Do Hazaar. Raageshwari was suffering from malaria, while shooting for the video "Ikki chikki chikita." The album was released with a concert on the eve of the year 2000. Just a week after the concert, Raageshwari was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, which left her with a paralysed left side of the face and a slur in her voice. Over the next year, she rehabilitated herself with help of physiotherapy, electrical stimulation and yoga. She did television shows such as Ek do teen and Baar baar dekho on MTV, Kuch Kehti Hai Yeh Dhun on Sony, Quest for BBC and One on One With Raageshwari on TEN Sports.

She then came back with an album in 2006, 'Sagari Rayn' which is a fusion world music album. Her video for the same created quite a stir as it was lavishly shot in the Sultanate of Oman by her brother Rishabh Loomba. The video was the first in Indian history to be released in cinema theatres all over.

She entered the fifth season of the Indian reality television show Bigg Boss where she was called 'Positive Raaga and the messenger of peace'.